After the Show
by DaisyG80
Summary: Caryl One-Shot. Carol puts on a show...
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: I still have one chapter in Changes but I couldn't get this one out of my head so….here it is!_**

**_Again, I own nothing and an in no way affiliated with The Walking Dead other than an unhealthy obsession. Errors are mine only – you can't have any._**

**_Happy Reading!_**

**After the Show**

'It's too fuckin' hot,' Daryl thought to himself and he pushed himself up from the table where he had been eating lunch. He slung his crossbow over his shoulder and gathered his dishes for washing. One of the women working in the kitchen noticed he was finished and came to takes the dishes from him.

"I can take those, Daryl," she said with a big smile. He couldn't think of her name. Cathy or something. He jerked back when she brushed her fingers against his and narrowed his eyes at her. The woman's smile seemed to get even bigger, obviously not intimidated by his scowl. Daryl might be clueless for the most part when it came to women but this one had been so over the top with her flirting even he had figured it out.

"Thank, Cathy." He wanted to smirk in satisfaction when her smile faltered at being called by the wrong name. A lot of the women from Woodbury had seemed hell bent on claiming any and all available men. He'd overheard one woman complaining that most of the good ones had been taken already. Well, he wanted to no part in any of that but the majority of men hadn't seemed to mind at all. Daryl had been left alone through most of the "man hunt" because he kept his distance and because he tended to intimidate most of the new people.

"Karen."

"What?" He looked at her in feigned confusion and sincere disinterest.

"My name. It's Karen. It's okay. There are so many of us now, I'm sure it's hard to keep everyone straight. I guess we'll just have to get to know each other better." Then she winked at him and turned to walk away.

Daryl rolled his eyes and headed in the opposite direction to go outside, missing the disappointed look on her face when she realized he wasn't watching her. Stepping outside, Daryl squinted against the brightness of the sunlight, letting his eyes adjust. When he could see again he scanned the courtyard. Carl and Michonne were walking the fence. A look up at the tower confirmed Glen and Maggie had watch duty. Rick, Herschel, and a handful of the Woodbury people were in the field scouting for a good place to start planting. Carol had ten or so kids sitting around her in a class while Beth held Judith and watched the lesson.

He heard some low laughter coming from the shade of the building and Daryl looked over to see a group of men standing several yards behind the children. They seemed to be watching the lesson but the laughter and looks directed at the teacher indicated they were more interested in Carol than the lesson. Daryl walked over to them, interested to see what was so damned funny.

Daryl came to stand near the group of men and looked over at Carol who didn't seem to notice any of them were even there. She looked beautiful, as always, wearing practical clothes – cargo pants, boots, and a spaghetti strap tank top.

"Wait for it," says one of the guys standing next to him and Daryl looked over to where Carol had bent down in front of the kid to explain something. He stared at her with his mouth open in shock. Her tank top wasn't really low cut but apparently it wasn't made for bending over in public. Her breasts were pushed together and she looked like she might fall out of her top at any second.

Daryl heard the sighs and the low whistles coming from the group of men, luckily they were quiet enough that the sound didn't carry to her. His jaw snapped shut so hard it made his teeth rattle. Carol, _his Carol, _was over there trying to teach those damn kids something and these guys were just enjoying the show she didn't even know she was putting on. Daryl didn't know he could be so pissed and so turned on at the same time.

He stomped over Beth and jerked his head toward the class. "Take over for Carol." She opened her mouth to say something but Daryl was already striding over to Carol who he grabbed by the arm and pulled her into the building without a word.

"Daryl, what the hell are you doing? I was in the middle of talking to that girl! Hey!" People cleared out of their way as he stalked through the common room pulling her behind him as she was half-heartedly trying to pull her arm free. He barely registered the surprised look on Cathy-Karen's face when he almost plowed into her on his way into the cell block.

He ignored Carol's questions and just kept moving until they reached the bathroom where he pulled her inside and closed the door behind them. It was still early in the day so there was plenty of natural light shining into the room from the high, barred windows. Daryl pushed her in front of him, set down his crossbow and moved to stand behind her, looking at her in the mirror. He isn't surprised to see her glaring at him.

"Daryl. What the hell is going on?" She was trying to control herself but he could tell she was getting angry. '_Good_,' he thought, _'cause I'm pissed too.'_

"What the hell do you think you're doing putting on a peep show for those assholes?" he growls at her, glaring back at her. "Where's your shirt?"

"Peep show?" She looks down at herself and half expects to be standing there without a shirt. "I'm wearing a shirt Daryl."

"You always wear two shirts – two tank tops. Where's the other one?" Daryl's jaw is clenched so tight it is starting to make his head throb and he is trying really hard not to notice how good she smells.

He watched as Carol took a deep breath as though to calm herself. "Judith spit up on me so I took it off. I really don't see the problem, Daryl!"

"Well, why the hell didn't you put on another one?" He really isn't sure why he was so angry with her over something that stupid but the more calm she was trying to be the more pissed off he was getting. She didn't need to be out there giving those assholes any ideas.

"Daryl, it's hot outside! Two tank tops really isn't necessary!" She was starting to yell at him in earnest now.

Knowing he is being irrational but not able to help it he suddenly put his hand on the back of her neck and pushed her forward into the same bent position she had been in while outside talking to that kid. It wasn't his intention but that also caused her ass to come into contact with his groin and she gasped when his hips bucked against her involuntarily. When she looked at his face in the mirror she saw him staring at her chest. She looked down and knew then what he was talking about. When she was bent over this way she looked about to spill out of her top. It was the damn push-up bra Maggie had gotten her on their last run.

Carol blushed and tried to straighten but Daryl hadn't let her go yet. He was still staring and had moved closer so the hard bulge in his pants lined up perfectly with the crack of her ass. She froze, bent part way over in front of him, watching him in the mirror. He had a strange look on his face and it dawned on her that maybe he had been enjoying "the show." Before she knew what she was doing, she had pushed her hips back against him slightly bringing them into closer contact. He seemed to suddenly realize their position and let go of her and quickly stepped back, obviously embarrassed. Slowly she straightened, unable to take her eyes off of him.

"You were gatherin' a crowd." He cleared his throat and met her eyes in the mirror. "I'll have a talk with those assholes 'bout mindin' their own business so they don't bother you none."

"Daryl, don't, its fine. I'll…um…I'll just make sure to stay better covered and they'll stop coming around if there's nothing to see." He squinted at her tone. She sounded disappointed.

"You like that they were lookin' at you?" Daryl couldn't help the note of jealousy in his voice and he clenched his teeth together again, not wanting to make a bigger fool of himself than he already had. It wasn't just that he didn't want those fucker's looking at her. He felt a burning in his stomach at the idea of her liking the attention. Daryl didn't want her to want anyone's attention but his.

Again, he reminded himself that he was being stupid. He had no claim on her. She didn't even know how he felt because he was too chicken shit to do anything about it. It really wasn't fair to her for him to keep the other men away from her if that's what she wanted.

"It's not that. It's just nice to feel attractive every once and a while." Daryl winced at the sadness in her face. She really didn't know how beautiful and sexy she was.

"Them asshole's lookin' at you makes you feel attractive?" He gave up trying to not sound jealous.

"Not them, Daryl." Suddenly she wouldn't meet his eyes in the mirror anymore he felt his heart speed up in his chest.

All at once he was feeling brave and he wanted her to know how beautiful she was. He stepped closer to her again, not quite touching her but he could feel the heat from her back against his chest.

"Who, then?"

Carol flushed red at his soft question. "Forget it, Daryl. I appreciate you letting me know about…well." She stopped and finally looked him in the eyes again. "But next time you want to tell me something can you just tell me instead of dragging me though the prison in front of everybody?" Daryl felt a pang of guilt until he noticed the small smile on her face. She was teasing him. His eyes narrowed and he stepped even closer until her back was flush with his chest and he placed his hands on her hips.

"Only if you tell me who you want watchin' you." Her eyes widened in shock. What had gotten into him? He _never _touched _anyone_ as much as he had touched her in just the last few minutes. And he certainly didn't tease her! "Well?" He murmured, "Is it Rick?"

Carol gasped, "What? No! Of course not! Daryl…" she stopped suddenly, noticing the smirk he was trying to hide. What the hell?

Daryl moved his thumbs in lazy circles on her hips. "Glen's taken…Herschel?"

She couldn't help the snort of amusement that escaped. "No…not Herschel and definitely not Glen – taken or not."

His lips twitched. "Carl's a bit young…"

This time Carol laughed outright, delighted at this playful, teasing side of Daryl. "Positively not Carl." She started to finally relax, leaning back into his chest and watched his face. She really wasn't sure where this was coming from or where it was going but she decided to enjoy it while it lasted. Carol wondered if he would try and name every man in the prison.

"Tyrese." She rolled her eyes.

"Nope, sorry." Carol tilted her head to the side. "You really want to know?"

Daryl nodded, his whiskers brushing against her ear and making her shiver. She hesitated, aware that this moment would change everything for them. Carol decided it was time to stop being a coward and go for what she wanted. She turned in his arms and wrapped her own around his neck, threading her fingers through his hair. They were pressed against each other with their faces only inches apart. All he had to do was lower is head just a little and he could finally taste her.

Daryl was surprised when turned quickly and threw her arms around him. He thought she was close that last little distance and kiss him but she seemed to be content to press against him and wait for him to make the next move. Their relationship would be irrevocably changed if he kissed her. At that thought Daryl wanted to roll his eyes. Their relationship had changed the moment he went all Neanderthal on her and drug into the bathroom. There was no going back from this. He sucked in his breath when he realized he didn't want to go back. He wanted to move forward. With her.

He pulled her closer with one hand on her hip while the other slid up her back to cup her head in his palm. He couldn't seem to look away from her lips.

"Tell me, Carol."

Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips and he nearly gave in and kissed her right then but she beat him to it because a second later she rose up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his. Too soon she leaned back a fraction of an inch and whispered to him.

"You, Daryl. It's always been you."

Fin.


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two

"It's always been you," Carol whispered, her lips just a breath away from his. Daryl's eyes locked on hers and what he saw there made him slide his hands across her back pulling her even closer. No one had ever looked at him with such warmth and tenderness. Carol was looking at him as though he were the most important person in the world.

Slowly, Daryl ran one hand up her back until he was gently cupping the back of her head, his fingers flexing and massaging her scalp. He leaned forward slightly, rubbing his nose against hers. "Yeah?"

He watched in fascination as she let her head fall back, enjoying the feel of his fingers in her hair. She smirked at him and gently nudged his nose with hers. "Yeah."

Daryl couldn't help the slow smile forming on his face and he bent toward her, as though he were going to kiss her but at the last second turned his head to slide his cheek along hers until his mouth was at her ear. He was gratified to hear her groan softly in protest. He lightly kissed her jaw and whispered back to her, "Good," before running his lips along the underside of her jaw, working his way back to her mouth.

Carol stood there, reveling in the way it felt to be held by him, savoring the light kisses he was placing on her jaw. She was quickly becoming impatient with the need for him to finally put his mouth on hers and she shifted against him restlessly. They both froze as her movements brought her fully against him and his desire for her became obvious. Neither moved for a moment, waiting to see what the other would do.

Daryl pulled back slightly to look into her face. Carol suddenly realized he was waiting to see if she was okay and she nearly laughed aloud. Instead, she moved her hips against his, feeling his erection pushing against her. He groaned at the contact and she felt his fingers tighten against her scalp, then his mouth was on hers. She had expected him to kiss her with urgency so she was surprised when his kiss was soft and hesitant and he pulled away far too soon.

Growling in frustration, Carol grabbed his head and brought his mouth back to hers, kissing him firmly. She felt him smile against her lips and he pulled her closer, returning her kiss with enthusiasm.

Daryl couldn't believe this was happening. He was standing in the bathroom, holding Carol in his arms and they were kissing. And if she didn't stop wiggling against him he was going to embarrass himself. Suddenly her tongue glided across his lip and he sucked in a surprised breath. With one hand cupping the back of her head, he angled her slightly and allowed her to deepen the kiss. When her hot tongue slid against his, he couldn't help but pull her tighter to him and grind his hips into hers.

Daryl started to walk her backwards until her ass came into contact with the sink and he lifted her up so she was sitting on it without breaking their kiss. Her legs came around his hips and pulled him against her. His hands had just started to make their way under her shirt when there was a knock at the door.

"Carol? Are you okay in there?"

Daryl growled in frustration at having been interrupted and Carol smiled, dropping her head to his chest.

"I'm fine, Karen," she called through the door, a bit breathless. Reluctantly, he pulled his hands from beneath her shirt and placed them on her hips. His head fell back as he tried to get control of himself again.

"Are you sure? Daryl seemed pretty upset…"

"Really, I'm fine. I'll be out in a few minutes." Carol lifted her head and saw the scowl on Daryl's face.

"Alright." They listened to the sound of her footsteps fade as she walked away.

"That woman is nosy as hell," Daryl grumbled and she smiled at him.

"Well, it's not every day you drag me through the prison and barricade us in the bathroom." He smirked at her and nodded, conceding her point. Carol's legs tightened around him for a moment before she released him and nudged him to step back.

Daryl kept his hands on her hips as she slid down from the sink, only moving back enough for her to stand. He didn't want to let her go yet.

Carol reached up and moved his hair so she could see his eyes better and then rested her palm against his cheek.

"We should go," she sighed in regret.

Daryl let his arms fall to his side when she moved away from him and he looked at her questioningly.

"Everybody knows we're in here, Daryl. The longer we stay, the more gossip there will be."

He scowled and moved toward the door, picking up his crossbow on the way, mumbling something about busybodies minding their own damn business and she grinned. Following him out of the bathroom, she turned and headed for the stairs leading to the second level of cells. She caught the confused look on his face as he moved to follow her.

"I thought I should get another tank top," she turned her head to smirk at him. "You know, since this one is a little too revealing." Starting up the stairs, Carol began to feel a flutter of nervousness in her stomach. Would he try to kiss her again when they got to her cell? God, she hoped so.

Daryl couldn't take his eyes off of her ass as she climbed the stairs in front of him. Jesus. Maybe he shouldn't have followed her. All he could think about was touching her and wondered how much the springs on her bed squeaked. He felt his face flush and when they got to her cell he stepped inside after her but hesitated at the doorway, trying hard not to look at the bed while she began rifling through a drawer.

She found the shirt she was looking for and pulled it over her head before turning back to him. With a teasing smile she bent forward and looked down at herself.

"Well? Anything showing?"

TBC…


End file.
